


It's All Coming Back

by heartlikeabomb



Category: Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Jay Halstead Whump, whumptober2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartlikeabomb/pseuds/heartlikeabomb
Summary: After-effects of Jay’s military service come back to haunt him. Will gets his eyes opened to some of what Jay has been dealing with.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 77





	It's All Coming Back

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote a couple of short pieces for Whumptober 2020 on Tumblr and figured I'd share them here. Would love to read some feedback if anyone has anything to offer. I haven't written in years and finally decided to get back in the game. At least a little bit.

Will approached the apartment and knocked enthusiastically. He had been pulling a lot of extra shifts at Med recently and hadn’t had much time to spend with Jay. But finally – finally he had a night off and they had plans for a Hawks game and a couple of beers. 

Several seconds passed with no answer.

Will knocked again. “Jay, buddy! Quit puttin’ that makeup on; it’s just a night with your brother!”

Again, he was met with silence. Will hesitated but the worry took over. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it slightly. It was unlocked and gave way immediately. The door swung open revealing a dark apartment. 

“Jay?” Will called.

A soft voice cried out in response. “Agh!”

Will rushed forward and flipped the entry light on, flooding the living room with bright light.

“AH! Turn it off!” Jay moaned from the couch.

Startled, Will flipped the light back off and stumbled forward as his eyes readjusted to the darkness. He found his way to the couch and put a hand on Jay’s shoulder.

“Jay? What’s going on?”

“Hurts,” he whispered. “Too loud.”

Will brought his voice down to a whisper. “What hurts? What happened?”

“Head,” he breathed out, heaving as he pushed the palms of his hands against his temples.

“Did you get hurt? Did something happen at work?” Will was growing more concerned by the second. He didn’t see any blood though that was hard to know for sure with the two of them shrouded in darkness. 

“Migraine…bad one…” Jay finally said. 

Will took a calming breath. A migraine was something he could deal with. “Did you take anything?”

“Imitrex. A while ago. Hasn’t touched it.” 

Jay suddenly pitched forward and reached for a bowl on the floor that Will had just barely missed with his foot. He leaned halfway off the couch and began dry heaving. 

“How long since the pain started?”

“I don’t know,” he gasped once the gagging subsided. “What time is it?”

“Almost 7:30.”

“Oh god. Right. The game. Aw man, I’m sorry, I should have called you.” Jay rolled back onto the couch and covered his eyes with his arm.

“No, no, no, don’t worry about that. When did the pain start?” he asked again.

“Around 3?”

“Is that when you took the Imitrex?”

Jay nodded silently. 

“God, Jay, you should have called me. When did you start throwing up?”

“I don’t know. A while ago.”

Will put his hand under Jay’s shoulder blade and started to help him up. “C’mon. You’re going into Med.”

Jay moaned and tried to push him off. “No, no, just let me try and sleep it off. I can try another Imitrex.”

“Nope. Not negotiable. You’re dehydrated from throwing up and the pain is way out of hand. You need to get it under control.” 

Will made another move to pull Jay into a sitting position. He obeyed this time but kept his hands over his eyes and laid his head back as soon as he stopped moving.

“Are you dizzy?”

Jay shook his head. Will didn’t believe him but figured it wasn’t worth arguing about. 

“Wallet in your pocket?”

Jay nodded, trying to conserve his energy for what he knew would be a very uncomfortable walk to the car. 

“Okay, let’s go.”

Will pulled Jay to a standing position and took his right arm to guide him. He opened the door to the hallway and the hall light hit Jay like a Mack truck.

“Agh,” he moaned, trying to cover his eyes more thoroughly with his left arm.

Will slipped his sweatshirt off and pushed it against Jay’s hand. “Use that instead.”

Jay balled up the sweatshirt and pushed it against his eyes as they made the slow trek to Will’s car. Once inside, Will buckled him in and shut the door as softly as he could.

Jay used both hands to hold the sweatshirt over his eyes and curled up, leaning against the window. 

The ride was uneventful and quiet. Will left the radio off and tried to avoid any sudden jolts. 

Pulling up to the entrance, Will whispered to Jay to stay in the car, that he would be right back.

Will arrived back a few minutes later pushing a wheelchair with Natalie in tow. He tapped on the window, which alerted Jay to his presence, before carefully opening the door.

“Jay, I’m here with Natalie. We have a wheelchair here to make it easier.”

“No, no I’m good.”

Will suppressed the urge to chuckle. “Just ride in the wheelchair. It will be easier to keep your eyes covered. The lights are going to be bright.”

Jay took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, allowing Will and Natalie to guide him into the seat. Will placed his feet on each of the footrests before nodding to Natalie.

“I’m gonna go park the car, I’ll be back in a minute.”

Jay grunted a noncommittal reply and Will took that to mean he’d better hurry.

Natalie guided Jay into the ER and into a waiting treatment room. She immediately turned down the lights as low as they could go and helped him up onto the bed.

“Halstead?” he heard a voice ask.

Natalie turned and saw Maggie standing in the doorway. 

Natalie nodded. “Migraine. Can you send a nurse in?”

Maggie nodded and turned around to flag someone down. “April, need you here in treatment two.”

April walked over and nearly ran into Will who was rushing to get back to Jay’s side.

“Jay, I’m back, I’m right here.” Will put a hand on Jay’s thigh and squeezed gently. Jay continued to keep the sweatshirt over his eyes but visibly relaxed at Will’s touch. 

“Jay,” Natalie said cautiously, trying not to speak too loudly, “Will filled me in on most of it. Sounds like your migraine med isn’t working. You have a history of migraines?”

Jay nodded and Will felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. He had no idea.

“Since my TBI,” he said, painfully, “Overseas. But I haven’t had one for a long time.”

Will realized again how absent he was when Jay needed him most. Jay didn’t tell him much of anything about what happened in Afghanistan or what happened when he got back stateside. 

“Let’s see if we can get that pain under control. How would you rate it right now?”

Jay was quiet for a few moments. “Six,” he said simply, then after another second, “seven.”

Will shook his head and mouthed to Natalie, ‘no way’. Natalie smiled and shook her head back at him. 

“Jay, I’m going to have you get in a gown and then we’ll get you some medicine to help with that pain and nausea. April? Start a line and give 30mg of Ketorolac and 8mg of Zofran. And run a bag of saline.”

“You got it,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll be right back, Jay.”

They left the room leaving Jay and Will together. Will tapped Jay’s leg. “Let’s get you into this gown.”

“Don’ wanna,” he complained without missing a beat.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But do it anyway. For me.”

Will helped Jay out of his clothes and into the very unflattering hospital gown. Getting him back into bed, he grabbed a thin blanket out of the cabinet and covered him up before trying (and failing) to snap the bed rails up as quietly as possible.

“Will-“ Jay said suddenly, “sick.”

Will grabbed a small basin out of a cabinet and rushed it under Jay’s chin as he started dry heaving again, spitting a mixture of saliva and bile into the bowl.

“I gotcha Jay. Take some deep breaths,” Will whispered, rubbing his back. Jay finally stopped gagging and laid back against the bed, holding the sweatshirt back to his eyes tightly. 

“You okay now?”

Jay nodded wordlessly.

Will took a seat next to the bed. As much as he wished he were treating his brother, he was secretly relieved that he could just be here for him. Especially since he wasn’t there for him before.

April returned with the medication and an IV kit.

“Jay, I need to turn the lights up a bit so I can see to get this IV in you, okay? You can keep that over your eyes, I just need to borrow your arm.”

Jay took a deep breath and offered his left arm to her while trying to keep the sweatshirt over his eyes with the right one. 

Will watched carefully and noticed his breathing becoming slightly more rapid. 

“Jay, I’m going to put the bed back just a little further so we can wrap this around your head and you won’t have to try and hold onto it.”

Will did his best not to jostle Jay’s head too much. Once the sweatshirt was firmly in place, Will grasped Jay’s right hand and squeezed. He leaned forward and whispered in Jay’s ear. “I’ll tell you everything before she does it, I swear.”

April looked on and waited for Will to signal to her that she could start. He looked back at her and nodded.

“She’s going to put that elastic band around your arm and feel around a bit, okay?”

With no response from Jay, she continued.

“Now she’s going to wipe your arm down with an alcohol pad.”

April continued working quietly and readied the needle.

“Okay, Jay, you’re going to feel a big stick here in just a second but it will be over so fast.”

Will squeezed Jay’s hand in his and placed his other hand on his shoulder. “Ready?”

Jay gave a slight but hesitated nod.

April slid the needle in and Jay’s body tensed for a moment before relaxing. She pulled the needle back out, leaving the cannula in place, and taped it down securely.

“That’s it, it’s in,” Will said, rubbing Jay’s shoulder. “You’re gonna start feeling better soon.”

April pushed the medication and then hooked the line up to a fresh bag of saline before turning the lights back down and leaving.

Silence stretched out between them. Will knew Jay was still in immense pain and didn’t want to make it worse by talking. So he opted for holding his hand and occasionally running his fingers gently through his hair.

A half hour or so passed before Natalie reappeared. 

“Jay,” she whispered, “how are you feeling?”

Jay took a deep breath before cautiously pulling the rolled up sweatshirt off of his eyes. He cleared his throat before mumbling, “Better.”

“How would you rate your pain?”

Jay pondered the question for a moment. “Like a two?”

Natalie smiled. “Good, good, I’m glad to hear that. Keep relaxing for a bit longer so we can make sure that pain stays under control. Do you need anything?”

“Water? Can I get some ice water, please?”

Will immediately jumped up. “I got it. No problem, Jay.”

Will followed Natalie outside as his anxiety for his brother’s well-being finally calmed. 

“I had no idea he had lasting migraines from a TBI,” Will admitted.

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No. He hasn’t told me much of anything from his time overseas or his time after he came back home. And I wasn’t exactly around when he got back. God, I feel awful. I haven’t really ever been there for him. Not since we were kids.”

“I’m sure he understands. You’re here now and that’s what matters.”

Will shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Just go get that water and be with him.”

Will hurried back to Jay’s room with the Styrofoam cup and straw. “Here Jay, I got you that ice water,” he said, pulling the bedside tray closer and setting the cup down. “Do you want me to raise the bed back up?”

Jay nodded and wiped a hand down his face, trying to get rid of the sudden grogginess that had appeared once the pain subsided.

Jay sat up a little straighter and gripped the cup tightly before taking a long sip. “Thanks, man.”

“Of course.”

An awkward silence fell over them. Jay took a couple of more sips before putting the cup back and laying his head back against the pillow. 

Natalie appeared again at just the right time. “Still doing alright there, Jay?”

Jay cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. “Yeah, yeah I am. Thanks.”

“Do you still have a neurologist that you see regularly?”

“Uh, no, not really. I haven’t had a migraine this bad for a long time. I didn’t really feel like I needed to keep going. I had the Imitrex which was working.”

Natalie nodded. “Maybe it’s time to consider going back, just for a cursory check in and to maybe see if your Migraine treatment plan needs to be modified.”

Jay didn’t really respond other than a slight nod. 

“Before we kick you out of here, I’m going to give you a dose of Decadron – it’s a steroid that will help make sure your migraine doesn’t come back in the next day or so. Sound okay?”

“Yeah, absolutely. That would be great.”

“Just so we’re clear, this will not exempt you from seeing your neurologist. This should cover you for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have another one next week,” she warned, hoping that Will would at least be able to get him to follow through.

“Neurologist. Got it,” Jay said reluctantly. 

“Good. I’ll send April back with the Decadron and then we can get you out of here.”

“Sounds great. Thanks, Natalie.”

The room was silent again for several seconds before Will finally spoke up.

“Look Jay, uh, I know I wasn’t a great brother to you back then. Back when you came home, I mean. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I should have been here –“

“Nope, don’t even go there,” Jay cut him off. “Water under the bridge, man.”

“But it’s not. I didn’t even know you still had symptoms from your TBI. And I was just off in New York doing my own thing while you were back here alone.”

“I wasn’t alone; I had dad.”

Will scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure that was a grade A support system.”

“It is what it is. And honestly, I don’t get the migraines very often. I can’t even remember when my last one was. It’s just a fluke that I had one today and that it was really bad. I’m managing just fine otherwise.”

“Which I’m thankful for. But please, Jay, please, for me. Take care of yourself. Call your neurologist and make an appointment.”

Jay smiled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I will.”


End file.
